Stackable container



y 9, 1970 M. KOVAC 3,512,677

IS'I'ACKABLE CONTAINER Filed July 5. 1968 +1 WW HI; 20c 4O 20d 1| 1 I IINVENTOR. .8632 I 18111 I M/b/ 70e/ Kovoc His AffZy-s United StatesPatent Oflice 3,512,677 Patented May 19, 1970 3,512,677 STACKABLECONTAINER Michael Kovac, Northbrook, Ill., assignor to Illinois ToolWorks Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 3, 1968,Ser. No. 742,338 Int. Cl. B65d 21/02, 85/72 US. Cl. 220-97 8 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A disposable thin wall plastic containerhaving stacking means to provide stacking of similarly configuredcontainers and means for releasably and axially locking stackedcontainers together thereby preventing inadvertent separation thereoffor ease of transporting the containers and enabling a sealedrelationship to be established between adjacent containers where it isdesired to provide a food concentrate therebetween.

Containers dispensed through a coin-operated vending machine aregenerally completely filled after coin insertion and product selection,In such a machine, containers, either made of paper or plastic, aregravitationally dropped and/ or mechanically eparated from a containerstack in response to activation and operation of the mechanicalcomponents of the machine which also dispenses and fills the separatedcontainer with ingredients, such as a hot or cold beverage, after suchcontainer is supported in an accessible area of the machine to permitsubsequent grasping thereof by the consumer.

' While many large establishments having sufiicient usage to support theabove type of coin vending machine, there are a number of smallerestablishments where a simplified system is desired. Such a system couldprovide either mechanical or hand separation of containers from a stackwith subsequent manual filling thereof. With such a system, it is oftendesirable to expedite the manual filling of the containers throughpre-filling of containers with a freeze-dried concentrate or the like.At least one such prefilling approach is commercially in use in themarket place where false or indented bottom two-piece paper containersare filled with concentrate when inverted, the concentrate being trappedbetween adjacent containers when nested together and the entire packagebeing overwrapped within a transparent plastic bag for shipment toconsumers. As is well known, paper containers possess a number ofdisadvantages, such as sogginess and the unfavorable papery taste whichcaused the development of and the increasing consumer preference forone-piece disposable thin wall plastic containers. Further, papercontainers having a food concentrate trapped therebetween require an airimpervious and moisture free overwrap which is positioned in tightlywound engagement relative to a stack of containers to prevent spoilageof the food concentrate and prevent spillage or separation of theconcentrate from between the containers.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a disposable thinwall plastic container which releasably hold similarly configuredcontainers in stacked relationship until separation thereof is desiredto prevent accidental container separation and also facilitate shipmentand handling of the stack of such containers.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a disposablethin wall plastic container which, in addition to the afore-mentionedobject, is configured to receive a food concentrate or the liketherebetween and protect such concentrate from air or moisture whileadjacent containers are in stacked relationship relative to one another.

Other objects of the present invention include the provision of acontainer of the aforenoted type which can be economically andefiiciently manufactured by known techniques, easily filled, if desired,with a food concentrate or the like, rapidly assembled and disassembledrelative to a similarly configured container, is pleasing in appearanceand in use, and is otherwise well adapted for the purposes intended.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention areattained by the provision of a disposable thin wall plastic containerwhich includes a bottom wall and a peripherally continuous side wallextending upwardly and outwardly therefrom, stacking means provided inthe side wall of the container for stacking a similarly configuredcontainer in axially spaced relationship therewith, and means forreleasably and axially locking adjacent containers together with thestacking means thereof in cooperative engagement.

Reference is now made to the drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view of a disposable thin wall plasticcontainer constructed in accordance with the teachings of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view, partially insection, of a pair of similarly configured containers which arereleasably locked in stacked relationship to one another;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view, partially insection, on a scale slightly smaller than FIG. 2, and showing a modifiedform of container coming within the purview of the present invention;and

FIGS. 4-6 are enlarged fragmentary sectional views illustrating variousmodified forms of stacking and releasable locking means which are alsowithin the scope of the present invention.

The container 10 shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing is a disposableone-piece thin wall plastic container which is preferably made from amaterial such as polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinylchloride or othersimilar and equivalent thermoplastic materials. It is well known tothose skilled in the art of thermoforming containers that theabove-described containers can be formed as finished products with athickness generally in the range of .002 to .034 inch in thickness.

The container 10 has a general frusto-conical shape which includes abottom 'wall 12, which is axially concave upwards to prevent oilcanning, and a peripherally continuous side wall 14 extending upwardlyand outwardly from the bottom wall 12 and terminating in a thickened rim16 of the rolled rim variety at the open upper end of the container. -Ifdesired, the container 10 may be provided with finger gripping means inthe form of steps or fins as depicted in US. Pat. Nos. 2,905,350 and3,223,305 or with any other desired configuration which will facilitategrasping of the container and reinforce its side wall.

To support a plurality of simiarly configured containers in stackedrelationship, there is provided a stacking means 18 which may beprovided adjacent the bottom Wall 12 of the container as illustrated inthe drawing. Stacking means 18 includes an upper annular orcircumferentially continuous shoulder 20 spaced axially upwardly fromthe bottom wall 12 of the container, a lower annular orcircumferentially continuous shoulder 22 which comprises part of thebottom wall 12 of the container 10 along the outer peripheral portionsthereof in the general vicinity of its juncture with the side wall 14 asan intermediate section 24 which connects the upper and lower shoulders20, 22 respectively to each other as illustrated. Immediately above thejuncture of the bottom wall 12 and side wall '14, a foot portion 26 isprovided. The foot portion 26 permits the upper shoulder 20 to have asmaller diameter than the lower shoulder 22 by more than twice the sidewall thickness of the container to counteract jamming between likecontainers when stacked, and is set forth in detail in US. Pat. No.3,139,213. In this respect, reference is made to FIG. 2 of the drawingherein for an illustration of the manner in which adjacent containersare stacked in nested relationship. It will be seen that the lowershoulder 22 of the uppermost container rests upon and is supported bythe upper shoulder of the lowermost container. Since there is adifference between upper and lower shoulders of adjacent stackedcontainers by more than twice the material thickness as previouslymentioned, the incidence of jamming between adjacent containers is verysmall and within commercially acceptable standards. The stacking means18 is configured to take advantage of inherent resiliency of thin wallplastic material such that when a plurality of containers 10 are stackedtogether, the stacking means 18, primarily through the intermediatesection 24, temporarily distorts when the stack is accidentally droppedor mishandled and then returned to normal, thereby providing a resilientaction for a stack of containers as is disclosed in detail in US. Pat.No. 3,319,213.

As an important feature of the present invention, there is provided, inconjunction with the stacking means 18 in each container 10, lockingmeans 28 which is preferably formed immediately above the stacking means18. The locking means 28 comprises an inwardly opening or extendinggroove which is complementary configured and dimensioned relative to thefoot portion 26 provided in the stacking means 18 for receiving the footportion 26 of an upper container as illustrated in FIG. 2 of thedrawing. The locking means 28 further includes a locking projection 32which is radially inwardly ofi'set relative to the locking groove 30 bya dimension which is sufiicient to releasably retain the foot portion 26of an upper container within the locking groove 30 associated therewith.As illustrated in the drawing, this dimension is at least twice thethickness of the side wall at the point where the side wall divergesupwardly from the locking projection 32, but, of course, not so muchgreater than the thickness of the side wall that it would preventassembly of the containers in the releasably and axially lockedcondition, which is desired.

As best seen in FIG. 2 of the drawing, the locking groove 30 of thelower container is shown with the foot portion 26 of the upper containerin interfitting relationship therewith with the locking projection 32 ofthe lower container releasably locking and holding the foot portion 26of the upper container against inadvertent separation. Further, in thearrangement of the stacking means and locking means 18, 28 respectively,is such that when adjacent containers are releasably and axially lockedinto assembled relationship as illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawing, theupper shoulder of a lower container contacts the lower shoulder of anupper container in sealed relationship while the outer side surface ofthe foot portion 26 and the inner side surface of the groove 30' onadjacent containers also contact each other and provide scaling toprevent spoilage or spilling of a food concentrate 34 or the like whichmay be positioned, if desired, between the bottom walls 12 of adjacentstacking containers. Thus, the stacking means and locking means 18, 28respectively of each container 10 permits a plurality of containers tobe stacked and releasably held together to facilitate shipping andhandling of a stack of such container while also enabling a. foodconcentrate 34 or the like to be protected from spoilage or spillingfrom between adjacent containers due to the cooperation of elements asdescribed.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 3-6 of the drawing for a description ofvarious alternative embodiments which are within the purview of thepresent invention. In each of FIGS. 3-6, similar reference numerals areemployed to identify corresponding parts of the FIGS. 1-2 embodimentwith the suffixes a through d being employed respectively in FIGS. 3-6to identify the particular embodiment depicted in those figures.

The fragmented container 10a illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawing issimilar to the FIGS. 1-2 embodiment in all respects with the exceptionof the locking projection 32a. In the FIG. 3 embodiment, it will benoted that the locking projection 32a is peripherally orcircumferentially interrupted to provide a plurality of locking nibs 36which function to engage the foot portion 26 of an adjacent nestingcontainer in the same manner as previously described. However, since thelocking nibs or protuberances 36 are separated from each other by smoothside wall portions of the side wall 14a, assembly and disassambely ofadjacent containers in releasably locked relationship will befacilitated due to their greater diametrical flexibility that isprovided with such a construction. Also, stripping of containers from amold with undercut formations of the locking nibs or protuberances 36 ismade easier by virtue of the greater radial or diametrical flexibilityof such a container.

In FIG. 4 of the drawing, the container embodiment 10b is similar in allrespects to the FIGS. 1-2 embodiment with the exception of theintermediate section 24b and the foot portion 26b. In this particularinstance, the intermediate section 24b and the foot portion 26b form acontinuation of an upwardly and inwardly directed or back taperedsection relative to the axis of the container. As is described in US.Pat. No. 3,139,213, such a back tapered construction is particularlyuseful in counteracting jamming of like stacked containers as well aspreventing damage thereto, and thus it may be desired to employ such aconstruction in the commercial form of the container. The foot portion26b, while it does not follow the contour of the locking groove andprojection 30b, 32b respectively, has the essential portions thereofcomplementary configured thereto so as to provide the releasable holdingbetween adjacent stacked containers.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is similar in all respects to the FIGS.1-2 and FIG. 3 embodiments with the exception of the locking projection32c. As depicted in FIG. 5, the locking projection 320 is V-shaped toprovide upper and lower camming faces 38 and 40, which aid in the radialexpansion of the locking projection 320 during assembly or disassemblyof adjacent nested containers. As will be apparent, the lower shoulder22c of an upper container will first initially engage the upper cammingface provided on the locking projection 320 of a lower container forsliding contact therewith and subsequent expansion of the lockingprojection 320 to provide the interfitting relationship between the footportion 260 of an upper container and the locking groove 30c of a lowercontainer. During disassembly of adjacent containers, the upwardly andinwardly directed portion 250 forming the juncture between the footportion 260 and the intermediate section 240 on an upper containerengages the lower camming face of the locking projection 320 provided ona lower container for radial expansion of the locking projection 320 ofthe lower container in permitting disassembly of the upper and lowercontainers relative to one another.

In FIG. 6 of the drawing, the intermediate section 24d and the footportion 26d form a continuation of a vertically oriented sectionrelative to the axis of the container, and the locking groove 30d isalso vertically oriented with there being no locking projection in thisparticular embodiment. Thus, when adjacent containers are stackedtogether, the vertically oriented foot portion 26d of an upper containerwill be received within the locking groove 30d of a lower container;however, the relationship of the foot portion 26d and locking groove 30bof adjacent stacked containers is such that there will be frictionalretention between these parts on containers to provide the releasablelocking engagement with sealing along the outer side surface of footportion 26d and inner side surface of groove 30d on adjacent containers.Since there is no locking projection in this embodiment, it may bedesired to telescope adjacent containers as completely as possible toprovide a sealed contact between the upper and lower stacking shouldersas well as between the side surfaces and stacking shoulders of adjacentcontainers.

From the foregoing, it will now be apparent that the present inventionprovides a new and improved dis posable thin wall plastic containerwhich functions to stack adjacent containers together as well asreleasably hold them together in desired relationship for shipping andhandling purposes and, if desired, to protect food concentrates or thelike positioned between adjacent containers from contamination, spoilageor spilling. The present invention contemplates a number of differentembodiments having features which may be used singly or in combinationwith each other to achieve the purposes as may be desired for themaximum functioning of the container herein disclosed and illustrated.In addition to the various embodiments disclosed, various other changesin structure will no doubt occur to those skilled in the art, and willbe understood as forming a part of this invention insofar as they fallwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A disposable thin wall seamless plastic container of substantiallyuniform thickness including a bottom wall and a peripherally continuousside wall extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom and terminating ina rim portion at the open upper end thereof, stacking means provided inthe side wall of the container and being configured to counteractjamming of a similarly configured container in axially spaced, stackedrelationship therewith, the stacking means of adjacent containers beingconfigured and arranged to provide a separation between at least part ofthe bottom walls of said adjacent stacked containers which defines apocket for receiving a food concentrate or the like, and means includingpart of said stacking means for releasably and axially locking adjacentcontainers together with the stacking means thereof being arranged forcooperative engagement until adjacent containers are separated from oneanother, said means for feleasably and axially locking adjacent containers together including generally complementary male and female elementsformed on adjacent containers which are configured to interfit with oneanother and a circumferentiall'y extending locking projection which isaxially upwardly positioned relative to the interfitting male and femaleelements and radially inwardly disposed relative to the container sidewall diverging upwardly from the circumferentially extending lockingprojection by at least twice the thickness of the side wall, but lessthan a dimension which would prevent assembly of said containers, forreleasably locking the complementary configured interfitting male andfemale elements on adjacent containers, the side walls of adjacentcontainers being configured to permit locking engagement only of saidmeans for releasably and axially locking adjacent containers togetherduring telescoping and separation thereof.

2. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of saidcomplementary male and female elements is peripherally interrupted tofacilitate assembly and disassembly of adjacent containers.

3. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein said complementary maleand female elements are provided with sliding contact surfaces tofacilitate assembly and disassembly of adjacent containers.

4. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for releasablyand axially locking said containers together also causes interengagementbetween surfaces thereof to establish a sealed relationship betweenadjacent containers.

5. The container as defined in claim 4 wherein the interengagementbetween the surfaces of adjacent containers consists of enaggementbetween the side surfaces of adjacent containers in the vicinity of themeans for releasably and axially locking adjacent containers together.

6. The container as defined in claim 4 wherein the interengagementbetween the surfaces of adjacent containers consists of engagement ofradially extending surfaces of adjacent containers in the vicinity ofthe means for releasably and axially locking adjacent containerstogether.

7. The container as defined in claim 4 wherein the interengagementbetween the surfaces. of adjacent containers consists of engagement ofboth side and radially extending surfaces of adjacent containers in thevicinity of the means for releasably and axially locking adjacentcontainers together.

8. The container as defined in claim 4 wherein the stacking means ofadjacent containers are in continuous contact with each other when heldin releasable engagement with each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,899,111 11/1932 Serr 206-472,667,423 1/1954' Simpson.

2,971,304 2/1961 ONeil 22097X 3,091,360 5/1963 Edwards 2291.5X 3,349,95010/1967 Wanderer 229l.5X

GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

